Noemi grew up in Hungary and studied there before moving to the United States and attending Remington College – Tampa where she earned a medical assistant diploma. Noemi started working in Montessori in 2004, initially with toddlers for 12 years and then with ages 3-6 since 2016. Noemi first saw the Montessori method in 2002 and fell in love with it. She received her Montessori diploma through the American Montessori Center in 2018 and joined NewGate School in 2020 (which she loved from the first time she visited). Noemi enjoys hiking, camping, fishing, kayaking, nature, animals, flowers, and taking pictures of them.

Jenn holds a B.S. in education from the University of Northern Michigan and has both her AMS early childhood 3-6 and elementary 6-12 certifications, with MACTE accreditation. She has been a teacher trainer and received additional training in Applied Behavior Analysis with an Autism specialization. Jennifer is excited to join the NewGate team. “I love Montessori Education!” As Dr. Maria Montessori said, “The essential thing is to arouse such an interest that it engages the child’s whole personality.”

Jenn has over 30 years working in Montessori education. Over the years, she has been a Head of School, Montessori Teacher Trainer, Curriculum Coordinator, Summer School Coordinator, Supervising Teacher, and Parent Educator. She has also taken many hours of professional development in order to continually meet each child’s needs.

Jenn believes that her objective as a teacher is to help each child discover the joy of learning and to help the child develop a strong belief in his or her own ability. Each child is encouraged to do his or her best and to have a sense of pride in his or her accomplishments. She also believes it is of primary importance that her students appreciate and respect the differences of others. Jenn joined NewGate in 2019. 

Grace grew up in the south of India and later moved to Malaysia where she lived for 15 years before moving to Florida. Grace has an early childhood Montessori certification from MCI, London, and an ages 6-12 Elementary Montessori training from AMS. She also has a bachelor’s degree in information technology from Sikkim Manipal University. Grace has over 15 years of teaching experience in Montessori. In her other time, she enjoys traveling, reading, cooking, drawing, painting, walking in the garden, playing with her kittens and being one with nature. Grace joined NewGate in 2024.

Mendy loves drawing, which led her to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in fashion design, with a minor in psychology from Stephens College. Her first real jobs were customer service and retail management, until she recognized her desire to work with children. She completed her Master’s degree in education and Montessori certification at Xavier University, and has been teaching ever since. Mendy worked at NewGate from 2003-2006 and is thrilled to be back! She has over twenty-five years of teaching experience, bringing enthusiasm, dedication, wit, organization, and creativity to her work. Mendy focuses on developing her ability to connect with and motivate students in support of their own learning process, and helping them foster a love of learning, She has also earned a gifted endorsement and reading endorsement. In the classroom, Mendy enjoys writing newsletters with students, helping to create yearbooks, and putting on plays. In her personal time, she likes trying new restaurants, walking, and watching movies. Mendy re-joined NewGate in 2024.

Sophia (Sophie) completed a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition and Education at Saint Olaf College in Minnesota. She studied as both a pianist and vocalist and has several years of experience as a music director in children’s theater. Outside the classroom, Sophie loves to sew, cook, and hike, especially in National Parks! Sophie joined the NewGate community in 2024.

Anthony joined NewGate in August 2021, moving to Florida from Nebraska. Anthony grew up in a Montessori classroom from the ages of 4-14 which helped promote his passion for the sciences with an inclination toward conservation and animals. He graduated from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln in 2015 with his B.S in Fisheries and Wildlife with study abroad experiences in Puerto Rico performing data collection on the terrestrial and marine life on the island. Anthony joins NewGate with 6 years of professional background working law enforcement for the Nebraska Humane Society as an animal control officer having many experiences with a variety of animals from bobcats to house cats. Anthony is currently completing his Montessori accreditation through the Center for Guided Montessori Studies and is looking forward to starting his journey at NewGate.

Gillett joined NewGate in August 2021 after relocating from St. Paul, Minnesota. He has his AMI Montessori Elementary Teacher Certification from the Montessori Center of Minnesota. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications with a minor in French. He is a trained Montessori Model United Nations Instructor and a Montessori STEM practitioner. Among his many talents, Gillett is an entrepreneur, co-founding the Twin Cities Closet Company.

Alison has a Bachelor’s degree in K-12 Education and a second major in Spanish Language Studies. During her university studies, Alison spent time abroad in Alicante, Spain, attending La Universidad de Alicante. Her studies continued with a Master of Science in Student Personnel Administration. After over a decade in education, largely as a multi-center Director at Sylvan Learning Centers, Alison earned a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership and Development, with a certificate in International Business Studies.

Alison has privately tutored students who needed inspiration and support in their learning process, acting as a student advocate for students with various learning needs. Alison is passionate about supporting students’ learning needs through encouragement.

Alison moved to Lakewood Ranch, Florida in 2019 from Pittsburgh, PA, so her son could play baseball. You can often see Alison walking her rescued Yellow Lab, Josie, and her rescued Golden Retriever, Piper. Alison loves to travel and is often planning her next trip. She is excited about her work as the Middle School and High School Spanish Teacher. Alison joined NewGate in 2024.

Language and Humanities specialist Glenn Grizzard comes to New Gate by way of Key West, the Appalachian Mountain towns of Asheville and Boone, North Carolina, and his home in Georgia. After spending the Covid years at May Sands Montessori Charter School in Key West, Glenn spent last year teaching gifted children in a public middle school in Asheville.  Glenn earned his B.A. and M.Ed. at the University of Georgia. He took his Montessori Secondary training at the NAMTA program in Ohio.

From 2004-18, Glenn launched and taught in the middle school – and also served as the Director – at Mountain Pathways Montessori School in Boone. He also taught educational psychology at Appalachian State University during this period, where he raised his two children, Sawyer and Savannah. Prior to moving to Boone, Glenn taught gifted classes and social studies at a public middle school just outside Athens, Ga. where he had attended the University of Georgia for his undergraduate and graduate work. (Go Dawgs!)In addition to his passion for college football, Glenn enjoys golf, travel, and learning all he can about the world so he can share it with kids!

Amy has taught throughout the New Gate Secondary Program since 2002 primarily with English reading, writing and theater projects and has been teaching for 25 years. She is also an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program Instructor, Librarian and CAS Advisor. She has spent many years developing the Secondary Program’s experiential learning programs and looks for every opportunity to get students off campus and into the community for learning opportunities. She also leads the annual Drama Immersion Weeks with students at each Secondary level to build memorable theatrical productions in the space of a week. One of her great joys is helping every student find gateway books that lead to a life long love of reading, and she builds every opportunity possible to share books with students from toddler through high school levels.

Amy earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology at Loyola University where she also enjoyed studying Spanish during a study abroad term in Quito, Ecuador and learning about world religions as her minor. She began her teaching career in a refugee resettlement program teaching ESL to adult students from around the world followed by teaching Spanish at the elementary level. While teaching at a Great Books Foundation high school in Arizona, she earned her Master’s Degree in Experiential Education at Prescott College with a focus on building schools and learning experiences to promote engagement, eco-literacy and stewardship.

Amy enjoys her family time, reading, and travel, all preferably at the beach!

Isaac is originally from Mexico City and moved to Sarasota Florida in 2005. He graduated from Sarasota High School with an AICE Diploma and graduated from New College of Florida with a B.S. in Physics. Isaac is passionate about learning how the natural world and universe work, with specific interests in quantum mechanics and relativistic electromagnetism. In his free time, he enjoys solving tricky integrals, working through physics textbooks, playing video games, reading about various cultures’ histories, and partaking in Dungeons and Dragons with friends. Isaac has always appreciated mathematics and physics and hopes to eventually earn a Ph.D. in either physics or material science and engineering. Other than his nerdy interests, Isaac also loves the outdoors (except when it is hot!) including long hikes and experiencing nature.

Braeden (he/him) attended the University of Florida, where he studied environmental science and the Spanish language. Braeden studied abroad in five different countries while at UF, including an immersive Spanish semester in Barcelona. He fell in love with Spain that summer and resolved to go back. Braeden lived in central Madrid for two years, teaching English as a second language at a local high school, and counts it as one of the most valuable experiences of his life.

Braeden is also a graduate of NewGate. He enjoys fencing, which he has been doing competitively for over ten years. He was the Men’s Foil Captain of the UF Gators Fencing Club, has won tournaments in both the US and Spain, and attended USA Nationals and the North American Cup. Braeden also likes to read sci-fi and fantasy books, spend time in nature, and watch comic book movies. Braeden lives in England and is pursuing and MS degree in Global Wildlife Health and Conservation at the University of Bristol. He joined NewGate in 2024.

Pam has taught math at the upper elementary, middle school, and high school levels for many years in a variety of settings: public and private, accelerated and remedial, in small groups, in large classes, and one-on-one, most recently in a Montessori Adolescent Program. She enjoys helping students explore the connections and overlaps between algebra and geometry and, as a result, gain depth of knowledge in both of those mathematical disciplines. She loves seeing all sorts of students gain confidence in their abilities as mathematicians. Pam graduated from the University of Richmond with a B.A. in Mathematics and International Studies. She did her undergraduate honors math research in number field theory and its application in the proofs of certain cases of Fermat’s Last Theorem. In addition to her experience as a mathematician, she also taught English to students of all ages during a two-and-a-half year adventure living in China. Now Pam lives in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her husband and three children. She enjoys cooking, reading, spending time with friends and family, and being outdoors.

Lydia Dumais teaches high school science and art. She is also an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program Instructor. This is Lydia’s 6th year at NewGate. She graduated from New College of Florida with a double major in Biology and History and an M.S. in Biology from Clemson University. She presented academic papers at the Florida Conference of Historians and New Scholars. Part of her undergraduate research included working with wild sea turtles in Costa Rica as part of international conservation efforts.

Lydia is a Secondary Montessori Teacher. She is a lifelong learner and earned the IB Diploma in high school; she brings enthusiasm, hands-on learning, and a spirit of keen intellectual inquiry to the secondary program. She works on conservation projects in her spare time, including working with leatherback sea turtles, gopher tortoises, and wetlands water quality monitoring.

Amy has taught throughout the NewGate Secondary Program since 2002 primarily with English reading, writing and theater projects and has been teaching for 24 years. She is also an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program Instructor, Librarian and CAS Advisor. She has spent many years developing the Secondary Program’s experiential learning programs and looks for every opportunity to get students off campus and into the community for learning opportunities. She also leads the annual Drama Immersion Weeks with students at each Secondary level to build memorable theatrical productions in the space of a week. One of her great joys is helping every student find gateway books that lead to a life long love of reading, and she builds every opportunity possible to share books with students from toddler through high school levels.

Amy earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology at Loyola University where she also enjoyed studying Spanish during a study abroad term in Quito, Ecuador and learning about world religions as her minor. She began her teaching career in a refugee resettlement program teaching ESL to adult students from around the world followed by teaching Spanish at the elementary level. While teaching at a Great Books Foundation high school in Arizona, she earned her Master’s Degree in Experiential Education at Prescott College with a focus on building schools and learning experiences to promote engagement, eco-literacy and stewardship.

Amy enjoys her family time, reading, and travel, all preferably at the beach!